At the age of 10, Shannon Tavarez managed to accomplish what most never could, taking on a pivotal role in one of the most popular theatrical productions in Broadway’s history, that of young Nala. Less than a year later, Shannon finds herself fighting for her life having been diagnosed with AML Leukemia, a cancer whose victims have an average age of 65.

Shannon now spends her days receiving chemotherapy treatments and acting as a spokesperson for DKMS, the world’s largest bone marrow donor matching service. In Shannon’s case, finding a donor is particularly difficult because of her mother being African-American and her father is Dominican. On her quest for finding a donor, Shannon has prepared the following video for DKMS: